In 2009 Obama became the eighth lefty to enter the White House, joining James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Reagan (who was born a lefty but learned to write right-handed), George H.W. Bush, and Clinton. And, with his victory in 2012, he became only the third lefty to win a second term. Though Truman served as president for eight years, he only won one term, having succeeded to the presidency following the death of FDR in office.

4 — Youth rules

Upon his inauguration in 2009, Obama, then age 47, was the fifth-youngest man to take the oath of office. Only Theodore Roosevelt, JFK, Clinton, and Grant were younger. And, on January 20 Obama will follow TR, Clinton, and Grant as the fourth youngest to be sworn in for a second term.

8 of 9 — Height rules

History tells us that height matters with presidents. Though Mitt Romney lost the election and was actually taller by one inch than Obama, presidents are generally taller than the average American (only seven presidents were shorter than the average American male). Obama stands 6’1″ tall, and at 6’4″ Lincoln was America’s tallest president. Eleven presidents have been 6’1″ or taller—Lincoln, LBJ, Jefferson, Washington, Chester Arthur (who some sources claim stood only 6’0″ and anyway succceeded to the presidency upon the death of James Garfield), FDR, Bush Sr., Clinton, Jackson, Reagan, and Obama. Interestingly, eight of the nine who ran for a second term were reelected. Bush Sr. was the only loser, and he lost to fellow tall guy Clinton. Of course, LBJ chose not to run for reelection, and Arthur was never elected president.

1 — The “Unsolid South”?

From the period after Reconstruction until the 1960s, the Democrats dominated the Southern states in the electoral college. But, with the civil rights movement and the Democrats’ support of it, LBJ presciently noted that the Democrats had “lost the South for a generation.” Since the 1960s, the Republicans have dominated the South, with the exception of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and, to a lesser extent, Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Though both John McCain and Romney won large majorities in most of the South, Obama captured Florida and Virginia in both elections. It was thus the first time since FDR that the Democrats won both states in successive elections. In 1976 the only Southern state Carter lost was Virginia, which he lost in 1980.

> 65 million — The most popular president ever?

In 2008 Obama won more than 69 million votes, and in 2012 he won more than 65 million. No other candidate has ever surpassed 65 million votes, and only two other candidates (George W. Bush and Romney) have exceeded 60 million votes. Then again, the population of the United States has grown substantially, so this fact is less impressive than it seems superficially. Obama’s highest share of the vote is only 53% (2008)—dwarfed by the 61.1% garnered in 1964 by LBJ with only 42.8 million votes.

Of course, these are just six of the thousands and thousands of facts associated with Barack Obama’s victory. We invite you to provide some others in the comment section below.